Only a Hint of My Past
by AngelfishGirl
Summary: Sasuke lies dying in the forest until he's rescued by Sakura. However, Sasuke slips into a coma, and the only way to bring him out is for Sakura to enter his mind and watch his clan's murder. Sakura's avid to help, but if she fails, the both of them die.


**My first fanfiction on here so please be nice... I have a major phobia of people reading the books I write... and even though my friend Kevin saved my from it... it still slightly haunts me. So please, be gentle with bad comments... if it's really terrible, go ahead and tell me, but please don't make me feel horrible. It took a ton of courage to put this on the internet. As much as I would like to... I do not own Naruto**

**This is SasuSaku. However, there is no kissing or any PROVEN signs of love... that way, if you want just a normal book with Sasuke and Sakura as the main characters... there yea go! If you want SasuSaku, you can also easily make it SasuSaku. It works both ways.**

**Re-done!!! So a lot of editing has been done. Now the story actually has paragraphs!!! And it makes a little more sense!! Please... since it's my first fanfiction... please leave a comment!! *gets down and begs***

_Only a Hint of my Past:_

Sakura walked down the busy street, lost in thought. It's been a week since Sasuke left… I wonder if he's all right? She wondered as she became consciously aware of her foot hitting a pebble that skidded down the path, avoiding many pairs of feet walking in all different directions.

Sakura sighed, her head dropping down to the ground, closing her shining green eyes, but quickly opening them again so she wouldn't collide with anybody.

She couldn't clear her mind of her former crush. She loved him so much, but after what she did, could she forgive him? As much as she tried, he stuck to her like glue.

He's strong. I need to forget about Sasuke right now. She told herself, trying her hardest to get her mind to think about another topic.

His face floated from her mind for only a millisecond, before popping back in. Sakura did a silent growl of annoyance, but then she felt a pang of sadness and loneliness again.

I need to take a walk in the forest… that will get my mind off of him. She decided, taking a few more steps, then turning left to take the road out of the village.

She was stopped by the village guards. "Hello, Sakura. Where are you going? On a mission?" He asked confused. She and Naruto weren't supposed to have missions for the next two weeks since their teammate left. "No. Just on a walk through the forest." She said with an unusual awkward smile. "Alright, then. Be careful. We got reports of possible Sand Village Jonin lurking around. They aren't near the village of course, but there's a possibility that they could've snuck near the forest."

Sakura nodded, "Don't worry. I'll be just fine. I have plenty of kunai, smoke bombs, paper bombs, and medicines." The guard that had been talking to them nodded, quickly glancing at the other guard, who was reading a book and sipping coffee. "If you see anything suspicious, come back right away and report." Sakura nodded, "I will, don't worry about me." She said confidently. The guard nodded, and took a few steps back as a signal that she could leave.

Taking small steps, she slowly left the village gates. She looked back at the guards, realizing that talking to them was the only thing to get Sasuke off her mind. He came back into her thoughts again.

Walking into the forest that greeted her the second she stepped out of the gates, the first thing she saw was a squirrel dart across the road in front of her. It leaped up onto a tree, and scurried up into the tree, stopping on a high branch and nibbling on an acorn. Sakura continued walking, seeing rabbits, chipmunks, birds, and more squirrels scurrying around.

She had only been walking for about a half an hour, but the forest was bursting with plant and animal life everywhere she looked.

She didn't expect any humans to be out right now. The village had a heavy amount of missions to do this week. She was lucky she had the week off. She had taken about ten more minutes of walking, then decided to turn around and head off.

She turned around and took one step and froze as she heard a loud gasp. It wasn't an ordinary gasp though, it sounded mixed with blood and pain. She turned back around and closed her emerald eyes, concentrated on the sounds around her. She heard a squirrel chewing on an acorn, a bird chirping in the sky, and heavy panting… heavy panting!

There was someone out here with her; and they were injured! She focused on listening to where they were. Somewhere on her left side. She started running in that direction, confusion filling her mind. That panting… sounded so familiar! She thought, picking up the pace.

She stopped a minute later to listen for the sound again. Maybe it's the enemy… should I go get the guards to check it out? But what if someone's in trouble… and they die because I left? Sakura decided to risk it as she relocated the panting. Close. Maybe even within eyesight.

She scanned the ground all around her, looking for any unnatural colors. Green grass and leaves, brown squirrels, dark blue shirt. Wait, dark blue shirt?

She took a couple of steps closer. It was somebody, lying on the ground. They had a dark blue ripped up shirt with a blurred symbol on the back of it. Their tan pants had tons of blood on them, and their jet black hair was ruffled around. They were injured; possibly severe, possibly not. That was who was panting.

That symbol on the back was blurry since Sakura was far away, but she could swear the symbol looked familiar like the voice. She took a few more steps, and realized that it was the Uchiha symbol. But the only one who would wear that shirt was…

"Sasuke!!" Sakura screamed, dashing towards him without thinking first. He didn't do as much as flinch.

She quickly ran over to his side and gasped at the sight, tears streaming down her face before she could even fully take in the situation.

Sasuke lied on the ground, blood streaming down the left side of his face, from under the headband, down his cheek, onto the blood soaked grass. His arms were heavily bleeding, and full of stab marks where somebody had obviously stabbed him with kunai knives. His legs had been stabbed twice as many times as his arms. His stomach and chest couldn't be seen with so much blood running down, Sakura couldn't tell where his injuries were. His whole face was buried in the blood stained grass blades. He was lying on his side. She didn't know if she should turn him on his back or not.

If he had severe injuries on his back that could start to hurt him. Then again, everywhere on his body was marked with severe injuries. He was unconscious, so even with he was in pain by moving, he wouldn't remember it.

She turned him over, and found two heart stopping discoveries. One, his body was very, very thin. His shorts barely fit him anymore, and he felt as light as a brick. Not very heavy; he must not have eaten a thing since he left the village.

The last discovery- his face was covered with blood and dirt. Blood rushed over his eyes, nose, and seeping through his mouth, which was slightly cracked open.

Sakura wasn't a medic ninja, she had no idea how to heal him. She could only do a little bit to help him, but at this point, anything will have to do.

Before anything, she turned him from his back, back onto his side he was first found lying on. Then, Sakura slowly lifted his shirt up, then took it off to examine his back. None of the cuts were light. All of them were serious. Good thing she always took her backpack everywhere with her.

She sat criss-cross above his head, then taking her water bottle, apple, rags, and multiple types of medicine out.

I should probably wake him up first… right? She asked herself. She wasn't sure; she was taking a risk.

Deciding to go along with it, she pulled his body towards her and rested his head on her arm as she pulled him close. "Sasuke. Sasuke, wake up." She whispered, lightly shaking him. No response. She sighed, "Come on Sasuke, open your eyes. Wake up." The only reply she received was a painful moan, and a tremble. "Please Sasuke, wake up." It took Sakura three times to get him to wake up.

He slowly blinked his eyes open, looking up at her. His eyes were no longer the proud, black eyes he once had. They were now a dull gray.

"S-Sakura…" He let out a hoarse whisper. Sakura smiled worryingly. "Let's get you fixed up, Sasuke." She told him. Sasuke blinked once, then let his head drop onto Sakura's arm.

"…_hurts…"_ He rasped. "What hurts?" Sakura said, wringing out the rag that she drenched in water. Sasuke closed his eyes. _"…hurts…_" He let out a pained whimper.

It hurt Sakura to see her teammate so helpless. The once proud Uchiha was about to die, and now feeling secure with a teammate.

He must be in pretty bad shape to swallow his pride without even caring. Sakura thought, started to wipe away some of the blood.

Sasuke's peaceful sleep was interrupted by an agonizing sting in his stomach wounds. He shouted out a pained yell, then lied in Sakura's arms, shaking uncontrollably as she tried to calm him, panic getting to her. She reached to grab her water bottle, then told Sasuke to open his mouth so he could drink. He slowly opened his mouth, then started sucking in tons of water, taking in as much water as he could swallow. His throat didn't feel as dry and cracked anymore.

Sakura started grabbing some of the medicine. "Sasuke, what hurts?" She asked again. "…hurts…" He whispered. Sakura couldn't help noticing his voice wasn't in a hoarse whisper anymore, but now just a whisper.

"I know something hurts, but I need to know what so I can give you medicine for it." "…everything…" He choked out. He broke into a coughing fit, then his breathing went into gasping. Sakura gave him a tired smile. "What hurts the most?" "…legs…" He whispered.

Sakura looked down at his leg confusingly and gasped as she noticed that one of the cuts were poisoned. Cursing herself for not noticing sooner, she silently rested Sasuke's head down on the ground and took one of the rags, tying it around his skinny leg, cutting off anymore blood circulation. She didn't know if it would help or not, but it was worth a try; from the looks of things, Sasuke was injured the first day he escaped.

"Alright. Your leg is poisoned, so I cut off the blood flow on it. What else hurts?" She asked, bringing Sasuke's head back up close to her. It was a few seconds before he said something.

"Chest… and stomach…" The wounds there were very severe, and the ointment she had wouldn't help much, but would soothe the pain. So she spun the lid open, rubbing some on each cut. She knew it was hurting Sasuke by his ragged breathes but he had to live through minor pain to relieve the major pain.

After she was done, Sasuke's pain dulled almost immediately. "Anything else hurt really bad?" She asked. Sasuke looked up at her, with pain filled eyes. "…Head…" He whispered.

Sakura gave him some medicine in pill form, then after that she couldn't do anything more. She couldn't check if he was internally bleeding, or even how bad the poison was. "Sasuke… who was it that attacked you?" She asked. _"…Sand…"_ was all he could say. His voice was started to get raspy again. "How long ago?" Sasuke coughed, _"…the first day…"_

Sakura felt heartbroken that Sasuke had been feeling that pain for a whole week. Nobody found him, and he couldn't move. He hasn't eaten in a week either. She couldn't imagine the pain that he has been through.

"…_It… was painful… couldn't move… no one… came… no food… or… water… slept on my… blood… for a week… unbearable pain… wouldn't leave… wanted to… kill myself… but… couldn't… move…"_

Sakura felt miserable that Sasuke wanted to kill himself, and that he would've if he could have moved.

She grabbed the apple that she had and put it by Sasuke's mouth. "Here, eat this." She said. Sasuke looked at the apple, and turned his head. _"…Can't… swallow it…"_ He whispered. Sakura sighed depressingly, then put the apple away.

She gave him some water instead, which he drank a lot of. She had brought her gallon bottle of water, because she expected to be training sometime today, and proving Sasuke's thirst, he had drank half of it already.

Sakura sighed, "What you need is some serious food, water, and overall rest. Can you sleep? I have medicine if you can't, but it only last a little bit. It's for naps only."

Sasuke let out a pained whimper._ "…medicine…"_ he whispered. Sakura nodded to him, and took out another pill. He barely managed to swallow the medicine, but once he did Sakura relaxed, knowing that Sasuke would soon fall into a deep sleep.

She managed to find a small part on his back that was miraculously unharmed. It was as big as the palm of her hand, so she rubbed that spot with gentle fingertips. The back scratch felt very soothing to him, so he sighed into her shoulder.

His body was leaning onto hers, and she had big arms embracing him warmly. _"…Sakura…"_ he whispered. Sakura looked down at him, "What's wrong Sasuke?" She asked.

He let out a yawn before speaking. _"Why… did you rescue me… after… what I did?"_ Sakura sighed, "Sasuke, I could never leave you to die. That's just it. You could cut off both of my arms and I'd still rescue you if you were ever in trouble."

Sasuke nodded sleepily. The pill was starting to take its effect. Sasuke started fighting to stay awake. His head was nodding up and down trying to stay awake. The agony that he felt was slowly starting to fade away. For once, in a week. Sakura stroked through his hair, making Sasuke stop struggling. His eyes drooped quickly.

"Goodnight Sasuke." She whispered to him, giving him a smile.

Sasuke's tired body gave into the darkness before he could say goodnight. His head sunk deeper into Sakura's arm and she knew he was already sound asleep.

Sakura set his head down on the soft dirt and grabbed her rag, still moist from the water she poured onto it. She then started cleaning off the blood on his arms, chest, and legs. As difficult as it was seeing Sasuke in so much pain, she had to go through with cleaning the blood. After what seemed like hours, she picked the nearly weightless and lifeless Uchiha into her arms. She hadn't picked him up since their time in the Forest Of Death.

Orochimaru. That evil, cursed snake was the whole reason Sasuke was in this condition. If Orochimaru would have never bitten Sasuke, none of this pain would have happened.

His skin was soft, and using gentle fingertips, she brushed the hair out of his eyes.

Although he was in extreme agony, his face looked so peaceful, even as Sakura shot through the forest as fast as her legs could take her. As she ran she heard little gasps of pain from underneath her, then a dry cough. _"…S-Sakura…"_ She heard him whisper. She didn't respond to him, instead, she kept her full concentration on the road ahead of her.

"…_Sakura…"_ He said, this time more raspy. He needed some water, but she couldn't stop for a break.

She sighed, "What is it Sasuke?" She whispered.

"_cold…"_ He said dryly. Sakura thought for a moment, thinking about what to do. She had no blankets, or anything else to keep him warm. She pressed him closer to her, trying to trap in body heat that didn't blow away in the wind. He brought his arms close to his chest and closed his eyes again, still trying to trap warmth. A few moments later he leaned into her, but he wasn't asleep.

Sakura looked down at him momentarily, and noticed he was snuggling into her for warmth. She couldn't hide a blush as she picked up her pace.

She nearly tripped on a small pebble, but she caught herself and continued on the road. She was close now. Underneath her, Sasuke grunted in pain, then started trembling. He needs to get to the hospital. Sakura thought worryingly.

Then, she saw it. The village gates! She rushed towards them feeling relief wash over her. Once she got to the guards, she had no time to stop. "Summon Lady Tsunade to the hospital! It's an emergency!" She yelled.

The guards looked at the small body in her arms, then they both gasped as they noticed who it was. "Genma, you summon the Hokage to the hospital. I need to stay here on watch." "Got it." Genma said, then nodded back to him and leaped into the air. He ran off swiftly to go fetch the 5th Hokage.

Meanwhile, Sakura reached the hospital in time. She dashed into the door, hoping that whoever was there would be kind enough to take care of someone who had left the village.

"Please help! Sasuke Uchiha is severely injured! He's dying! He was attacked by Sand Village Jonin and he's been lying outside with no food, water, or anything for a week now!"

The lady at the desk gasped and quickly called for medics. Four of them came rushing out with a stretcher. One took Sasuke from her, and set him on the stretcher, while the second one started examining him using a Medical Jutsu. The other two were holding the stretcher, one on each side. "At this rate, he won't last an hour! Let's hurry!" The one examining him said.

"Sasuke?" Sakura said unsurely. No reply came from him; the only thing he did was open one eye halfway, looking at her, absolutely petrified. Sakura could only stand on cold feet as they rushed him away out of her sight.

10:00 PM. It was around three when Sakura got to the hospital. Now, she sat in the waiting room, nervous, and scared.

She hadn't received a word about her teammate. None. In seven hours.

Was that a good or a bad thing? She didn't know. She didn't know if he was awake, asleep, in pain, comfortable, or even dead or alive. Questions filled her mind like fog that wouldn't disappear.

A nurse had came and brought her an apple and some soup for her to eat, but she only took one bite of the apple, and only a couple spoonfuls of the soup. She wasn't hungry at seven, and she still wasn't hungry at ten.

She couldn't find the tiredness to sleep either. The whole time, she sat on the bench, staring at the door, waiting.

She knew Sasuke was just behind those massive doors, but even though he was less than 100 feet away, she felt as if he was a thousand miles away.

She felt powerless; she desperately needed to get to him. It like he's a drug or something. Sakura thought. The way I feel. Sakura let her eyes wander quickly from the door to the hallway, where a nurse walked past slowly carrying a glass of water, and a clipboard.

Sakura sighed, glancing back at the door. She expected Sasuke to come out tomorrow, or one of the medics come and tell her the news- good or bad- early in the morning, maybe at 3:00 AM.

Sakura sighed; she needed tons of rest, but she wouldn't be able to sleep. Not now.

It was about an hour later, when the light above the door flickered off, and beeped once. The "operation" was over. Sakura gasped and stood up quickly, a panicked look on her face. It wasn't Sasuke who walked out, but two of the ten medics in there.

"Sorry, Sakura. We are so sorry that we couldn't come out earlier to tell you what was happening. We just…"

Sakura bolted up to him. "Never mind that! What about Sasuke? Is he ok?" The medic took one sturdy breath, making tears flow from Sakura's eyes. "I knew it. He's dead…"

"Sakura, he's alive. Just in terrible condition." Sakura looked up at the man in disbelief.

"You mean, he actually survived?" She asked, her voice barely above a whisper. The medic nodded. "You can come see him, we need to ask some questions."

Sakura bolted up and followed the medics. The medics were walking at a fast pace, but Sakura felt as if they were too slow. Walk faster. She wanted to say, but she kept her mouth shut.

As they walked into the room Sakura gasped, looking around her. They were standing in a dome-shaped room. The walls were black with straight shining blue lines zigzagging around. The ceiling had many lights on it, but the very top had a skylight the size of Zabuza's sword. The walls were decorated with many tubes, medicines, needles, and scrolls. In the center of the hard, stone floor, was a circle that had six dots where people would sit to control their Chakra. Where each dot was, there was a line that connected to another circle in the middle, where Sasuke was lying, unconscious.

"Sasuke!" Sakura yelled. The medics had most likely filled him up with all sorts of medicines, so he probably wouldn't wake up.

All of the blood Sakura couldn't clean up was gone, and the major bleeding cuts were stopped, and were nothing more than tiny little scratches, the size of a splinter. All the poison in Sasuke's body was gone, and so was the original cut on his leg.

"You can go see him." The medic told her. Sakura nodded quickly and dashed over to her teammate.

He was lying on his side, his head still buried.

His body was exactly how he looked when Sakura first found him, but he didn't have the cuts and blood anymore. His face was a lot calmer, and he was breathing steadily again. He was still very thin, but he would have to eat to gain his normal weight again.

"There is only one problem we have now. We wanted to let you see Sasuke before we told you." The medic that brought her in said. Sakura stood up, "He is still way too thin?" The medic shook his head,

"No. Not that. The boy… went into a coma."

Sakura gasped, her eyes suddenly becoming terrified again. The ground beneath her felt so cold again.

"W-what are you talking about? Sasuke? In a coma? It's not possible!" She said.

All the other medics looked away sadly. "I'm sorry, Sakura, but it's true." He said. Sakura turned back to her teammate, lying on the ground.

"Listen Sakura, we need to get some more information about what happened, but first, we need you to talk to him. Hearing a more common voice may help him wake up."

Sakura nodded, then sat down close to him. She rested his head on her arm again, exactly how she soothed him when he was in great pain.

"Sasuke… I'm so sorry that you had to go through this. It's not your fault ok? You need to understand it, it's not your fault." She stroked his hair, but he didn't wake up.

Sakura sighed, tears flowing down again. "I-it's not helping…" She whispered. The medic nodded, helping her to her feet again. She felt like breaking in half. "Listen Sakura, we do have one idea, but it will be hard for you and him. You want to listen?" Sakura nodded.

"Alright, we have a way for you to enter his mind. Once you enter, you can talk to him, and tell him to come out of the coma. There are major consequences though… if he can't come out of the coma after that, both of you will die." Sakura was unsure of what to do or say.

Her and Sasuke both die? Could she risk both of their lives for only his? Sakura thought about it long and hard. She didn't know what to do. "Your choice." He said.

Sakura nodded, wiping her tears away. "Let's do it." She said confidently.

The medic nodded, "Very well, then we can begin." Sakura gasped, "Already?" She asked. The medic nodded, "Yes, he needs to wake up as soon as possible before the condition gets worse."

Sakura shifted her feet a little uneasily, but she knew she had to go through with it. His condition would only get worse, and he needed her. She trusted Sasuke with her life, and she knew he'd refuse to die.

"You sure you want to do this?" The medic asked one final time. Sakura could only nodded again.

He walked up to Sasuke, moving him slightly so he only took half of the space in the circle. He motioned for Sakura to come, so she rushed down by his side.

"Lay side-by-side next to each other. We will take care of the rest." Sakura obliged, lying down next to her comatose teammate. He was lying on his side, facing her.

She reached for his hand, gripping it tightly. Sasuke… please… let me into your mind… if you don't, we both die. Sakura thought. A single tear flowed down her cheek.

"Ready, Sakura?" One of the medics called. She didn't move her gaze from Sasuke. "Yes." She said, her voice shaky. "Begin!" The medic told the other medics.

"Well Sasuke… let's hope this isn't goodbye." She whispered to him.

She felt a pull on her body; like her body was being stretched. She felt as if she was being sucked into a black hole. Her mind was spinning, then she felt a thrust, and she plunged into an endless darkness.

Sakura blinked her eyes open once, and noticed she wasn't in the hospital anymore, nor was she in the blackness- it had flown by her in no more than a few seconds. She recognized the Uchiha Compound, though it seemed slightly different. It didn't seem as rundown as it normally did.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a terrified scream. The voice sounded oddly familiar, slightly different, but familiar.

Sakura looked around nervously. She was standing next to a fence, but she didn't see or hear anybody, except for a scream. She took a couple of steps forward, looking beyond the fence. There, dead bodies lay on the ground, blood splatters painting the ground and walls.

"W-what?" Sakura stuttered uneasily.

She heard the same familiar scream as before, but looking left and right, she couldn't see anybody. She took one step and froze as she saw a little boy, dressed in a black shirt with the Uchiha crest on the back and tan shorts. His jet black hair and streaming tears both glistened in the moonlight. Sakura gasped at the sight.

"Sasuke!" She screamed.

He didn't seem to hear her as he ran right past her, eyes wide with fear. There was a single cut sliced through his shoulder, but he seemed not to take notice in what must be very painful. Then, Sakura realized what exactly was going on. She was in Sasuke's dream, and he was dreaming about the time his brother killed his whole family.

She chased him down the street, calling his name, but it was no use.

Then, she saw his brother, Itachi, jump in front of him.

Sasuke stood, absolutely petrified in fear, as well as Sakura. She could hear Sasuke's terrified whisper. "Please… no…" A pain struck in Sakura's heart when he said that; he truly expected to die that night.

Itachi started to talk about some things that only an Uchiha would understand. She wondered if Sasuke could even understand it, being so young. He was only six after all.

"…Right now…" Itachi continued with the talk, and it was then Sakura realized she had missed the all of his words.

Sasuke gasped and took a step backward, sweat and fear filling his face. "You are not even worth killing. Baby brother, you're pathetic. If you want to kill me, settle for hating me, hate me and live like the coward you are! Clinging to life without honor!" Itachi's eyes turned crimson red as a special type of Sharingan emerged. "…and someday, when you have the same eyes as I, you will find me again." With that, all that came from Sasuke was a startled gasp, then he started to fall to the ground.

Sakura was about to run towards him when she felt another pull and she was sent back to another time.

She blinked open her eyes again and realized that the nightmare had started again, only she was in a different setting. Now, she was experiencing Sasuke's encounter with his dead parents.

He slowly opened the door, which creaked as it revealed it's bloody sight. "Father! Mother!" Sakura heard Sasuke scream. His mom and dad were on the floor, blood coming from their mouths and bodies. Above them, Sasuke's brother stood, slowly turning his gaze to meet Sasuke's frightened, childish eyes, Sharingan activated.

"Big brother!" Sasuke gasped. "Itachi! Father and mother… How? Why?" He yelled, sudden panic starting to swell over his mind.

There was a sound of a Shuriken sinking into the wooden door behind Sasuke, inches away from where Sakura was unnoticeably standing, with grief in her eyes. Sasuke's shirt sliced open, leaving a huge bleeding slash on his shoulder. "Foolish little brother…" Itachi whispered.

Sasuke looked at him with uncertainty in his eyes, paying no attention to the throbbing.

Itachi closed his eyes, then opened them again, this time his Sharingan was different. Sasuke felt a pulse run through his body. His stood wide-eyed in fear. Neither of them moved for seconds. They both stared into each others eyes. Then, out of the blue, Sasuke screamed and hit the floor, panting roughly. Itachi's eyes turned back to its original jet black.

Sasuke's shaking voice broke the uncomfortable stillness. "Why… did you..?" He whispered.

Itachi paused before responded, "To measure my capacity." He said sturdily.

Sasuke lied on the cold floor in silence for a second before reacting. "Measuring your capacity? You killed them… everyone… for that?" Itachi's gaze went from Sasuke to the floor beneath him. "I had to." His voice was a half-whisper. Sasuke looked up at him, "What's wrong with you?" He screamed, lunging at his brother.

Itachi easily brought him down to the floor. Sasuke took one look at his parents, and how bad of a condition they were in. Tears flooded Sasuke's eyes, as he bolted upright, "I'm scared!" He screamed, turning and running out the door.

Sakura quickly glanced around to see Itachi leave, before she darted after Sasuke, who ran as fast as his six year old legs could take him.

"Please! I don't wanna die!" He screamed.

Sakura quickly caught up to him and called his name. No response from him.

She ran in front of him, and as soon as he ran into her she wrapped big arms around him and held him close.

"Shh, Sasuke it's alright. This is only a dream, you're gonna be ok." She told him, brushing the bangs out of his teary eyes.

She was actually surprised that now he could hear, see, and feel her, yet before, he couldn't. Sasuke buried his head deeper into her shoulder, crying harder. "It's alright Sasuke, you know who I am right?" She asked.

Sasuke nodded, "S-Sakura… from s-school… only you look a lot older." He said, glancing up at her. She nodded, "I'm kind of… not in my right time right now."

She felt more grief as Sasuke broke down into tears again. She gave him a huge hug, suddenly feeling the need to protect Sasuke at all costs.

He couldn't stop the tears from flowing from his eyes, streaming down his cheeks and soaking her dress, but she couldn't possibly care less.

She started stroking his hair. "It's going to be alright, Sasuke. I'm not going to let him hurt you. That's a promise." Sasuke's tears increased into her sleeve. "Sasuke, you have to listen to me, you are safe with me, alright?"

The atmosphere suddenly shifted, and suddenly, she wasn't at the Uchiha Compound anymore. She wasn't in the hospital either. She was in total blackness. Everything was black. Only black.

She was now holding no longer a crying six year old Sasuke, but a crying twelve year old Sasuke.

He still had his head into her shoulder as he cried, but he was much taller. He wasn't a little kid anymore, yet he was still crying into her shoulder, and he wasn't stopping or pulling away.

"S-Sakura…" He said in between his small gasps. Sakura noticed his voice was normal again. She gripped his hand and used her other hand to pull his head in closer.

"Shh… it's alright. You're safe. We're not even at the Uchiha Compound." Sasuke silently nodded into her shoulder, his whole body shaking double what it was doing earlier.

"He made me watch it… with his Sharingan… over and over…my mom and dad… dying…" Even through his raspy voice, she could still hear him perfectly.

She pulled the hug tighter, feeling relief wash over her that he wasn't mad at her.

"I know it's probably unbearable to watch that over and over again, isn't it Sasuke?" Sasuke could only nod, tears still spilling from his eyes.

Sakura lightly placed a hand on each shoulder. "Sasuke, listen to me. You have to wake up!"

Sasuke gasped at the words, "I-I'm s-sleeping?" He asked unsurely.

Sakura nodded, "Listen, you are in a coma, and it's my job to get you out of it. Listen to me, if you don't wake yourself up, both you and I die."

Sasuke looked to the ground.

"I… I don't know how." He half whispered.

"Sasuke, listen. You do know how. Find it in yourself. I know you can do it."

Sasuke could only nod blankly at her. Sakura let out a smile, "You can do it. I'll be right there for you when you wake up, I promise."

Sasuke nodded, and closed his eyes to concentrate.

It was about ten seconds later when there was another pull.

She opened her eyes; her gaze unfocused. After blinking a few times, she realized she was staring at the hospital ceiling.

Next to her, she felt Sasuke stir, and a soft moan escaped from his lips. She felt his hand, still gripped to hers, twitch slightly.

She watched as he slowly flickered his eyes open, looking into her emerald eyes uneasily. "A promise is a promise." She smiled. Sasuke suddenly smiled at her, closing his eyes to sigh for a moment.

He looked down at his body, no longer covered in slashes, and cuts. He no longer felt any pain either. "I never realized how scary that massacre really was." She breathed.

Sasuke merely nodded, his eyes shifting back to her.

"Why didn't you tell anybody?" She asked. He opened his mouth to let out a sigh, _"Didn't want to show weakness…"_ He whispered, his voice raspy. Sakura gave him a gloomy look.

"Sasuke… anybody would understand that kind of pain. You can't shut yourself away from everybody when it's something so serious." She said.

Sasuke was about to speak when the medics came walking up to them.

"Great job Sakura. Both you and Sasuke are alive." Sakura only nodded back with a proud smile as she rose to her feet, helping Sasuke stand. After a few shaky steps, he managed to walk without stumbling.

It had been a week since he had walked, so being able to move again must be a relief to him.

Later that day, Sasuke could already leave the hospital thanks to Sakura's quick thinking, and her kind words during his nightmare. She wasn't there for him to thank her when he got discharged from the hospital, but he knew she'd be over tomorrow.

He could thank her for everything there. Thanking somebody… I must be crazy. He thought goodheartedly, as a smile escaped from his lips and he strolled down the dirt path leading to the Uchiha Compound.

_**the story AFTERWARDS:**_

(Naruto's Point-of-view)

After that incident, Sasuke never again left the village. Incredibly, he didn't even get a punishment for running from the village, which is considered a huge crime, and usually the punishment is death. Sasuke and Sakura had always stayed close afterwards. They were often found eating or training together. Anytime somebody asked them if they were dating, they would both say no. People said they were found by Anbu Black Ops sleeping together under a cherry blossom tree, but that's only a rumor- kind of like gossip. They deny it. But you know what? The way I see it… I think it's true.

_-End_

_**The review signed by "me" isn't me. That was my mom's review. She didn't know that I was logged in when she reviewed! xD**_

_**Sorry about that. I'm not trying to give myself credit everybody.**_ ._.' I just found that out today (March 22, 2010) so I never knew. Sorry people who thought that I was giving myself credit. I wasn't. I didn't even know she read it. -_-'

**This is one-shot. So there will be no sequel or second chapter. Thanks to all for reading.**

**Btw... you see that big button on the bottom of the screen? That's right, the one in the middle. Why don't you click that and tell me what ya thought. Good or bad? Should I continue writing or go die in a hole? You tell me! ;)**


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